Royal Robbins

“Royal Robbins was one of the best climbers who ever lived. The company he and his wife Liz started was conceived on top of Half Dome and born in Basecamp in Yosemite Valley in 1968.

The clothes Royal Robbins makes today are still found in basecamps all around the world. Because every great adventure starts and ends in a basecamp somewhere.

Royal Robbins clothes. Conceived on Half Dome. Born in Basecamp.”

The words above were written last year after our old friend and past Nike client Erik Burbank reached out and asked if we’d help him relaunch this storied brand.

“Born in Basecamp” is the result of our work together.

You may also like the work we did for Nike. Please view it here.

BORN IN BASECAMP

Royal Robbn relaunch video brought “Born in Basecamp” to life and sold in the new positioning.

Born In / Worn In messages sit at the top of the new brand communication plan.

  • Royal Robbins, the man, not the company, was one of the best climbers who ever lived. The company he and his wife Liz started was conceived on top of Half Dome and born in Basecamp in Yosemite Valley in 1968. But since then the company lost its way. After Royal died, the brand mostly made travel clothes for retirees. That is until an ex-Nike executive, and former client of Division of Labor, took over the company as President.

    Division of Labor is a top advertising agency in San Francisco. The independent creative agency works with a number of startups in the Bay Area. And Royal Robbins new President was treating the company like a startup. He needed an agency that would do the same. So the agency went back to the company’s roots to reignite this storied brand.

  • Division of Labor is the ad agency for startups in San Francisco so the agency founders work directly with a lot of startup founders. And the founder’s story is one of the most important keys to a brand’s behavior.

    Liz and Royal Robbins climbed Half Dome one day, making Liz the first woman to ever climb it, and they took what is now a famous photograph. In the photo, the couple look a bit ragged and tattered prompting Liz to say, “we need to start a clothing company.” Back in Camp 4 in the Yosemite Valley, the couple laid the plans and Royal Robbins, the company not the man, was born. That story conjured up the line, “Conceived on Half Dome. Born in Basecamp.” And it became the brand strategy and the advertising campaign tagline.


  • The ad campaign launched in February of 2024 with a global sales push to reignite the brand’s retail sales. By March, the agency launched an online effort with digital video, digital banners, social media and a large retail in-store component. Division of Labor is a full service ad agency in the Bay Area so they have full media buying capabilities to go with strategic planning, creative, design, copywriting and full production capabilities.


  • The brand sold in better than it had in years. The campaign was a huge hit with retailers and consumers alike. Website visits went up, social engagement went up. Both sides of the client’s mouth went up. For Division of Labor, being the ad agency to help relaunch Royal Robbins was an honor.